Columnist Bill Newman: Our Declaration of Independence

Amherst Conservation Commission considers expanding hunting to more conservation land

AMHERST — The Conservation Commission is considering opening more conservation land to hunting as the panel continues revising its land-use policy and regulations. As the commission begins to look at contents of a 53-page draft that spells out how conservation land is used and how the public can access it, time is being spent on […]

South Hadley crash kills Chicopee teen riding e-scooter home from work

SOUTH HADLEY — A 19-year-old man from Chicopee riding an electric scooter home from work Monday night died of injuries suffered when he was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Hollywood and Willimansett streets. Nathaniel Josue Martinez was hit in the breakdown lane by a Hyundai sedan traveling north on Willimansett Street. Martinez […]

Sports Briefs: Summit Run 5K returns to South Hadley this September

The Summit Run 5K is returning to Old Mountain Road in South Hadley this fall. The race is sponsored by the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club and will take place on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 9:30 a.m. Runners will compete on a course that climbs 800 feet up Mount Holyoke before ending at Summit House. Registration […]

Guest columnist Donald Joralemon: How to hike, how to live

Placerville, also known as Hangtown for its public executions during the Gold Rush of the 1800s, was the nearest town to my great-grandfather’s family farm in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Charles Henry Rieber (1866-1948) was the last of five children and grew up balancing hard work, schooling that required miles […]

A ‘music utopia’ revisited: Pendrift brings its eclectic, unscripted sound back to the Valley

After debuting more than half a century ago, the band Pendrift will reunite this weekend. The group will take the stage at Outlook Farm in Westhampton on Sunday, Aug. 16, from 1 to 4 p.m., featuring guitarist and vocalist Al Fuller, drummer Chet Pasek, bassist Jim “Chetz” Keegan and keyboardist Steve Sienkiewicz. While it is […]